Paralysis is a condition that affects every aspect of a person’s life—the work they can do, the activities they can participate in, the quality of their family relationships, and their overall health and wellbeing. When a person is left paralyzed because of someone else’s careless or reckless actions, the wrongdoer is responsible for all of the injured person’s losses.
Do I Need a Bridgeport Paralysis Injury Attorney?
If you suffered an injury that resulted in paralysis, seek legal guidance from an experienced catastrophic injury lawyer as quickly as possible. A Bridgeport paralysis injury attorney at Bert McDowell Injury Law can review your legal options and help you build a case for comprehensive compensation.
Causes of Paralytic Injuries Are Often Traced Back to Negligence
Paralysis is more common than many people realize. More than 5 million Americans live with some form of paralysis, according to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. Strokes and spinal cord injuries are the leading causes, but fractures of the cerebral vertebrae (broken neck), some birth injuries, and diseases such as muscular dystrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) also could cause paralysis.
Negligence leads to many cases of paralysis. Any of the following accidents that cause spinal cord injuries and broken necks, leading to paralysis, might originate from someone’s reckless, careless, or intentional actions:
A proactive Bridgeport injury lawyer can investigate the cause of a person’s paralysis to pinpoint negligent acts or omissions that might have contributed to their condition. In many cases, multiple parties could be held liable.
Preparing Claims for Damages
People with paralysis could require substantial care, depending on their age and the extent of their injury. A negligent party with responsibility for causing the paralysis has a legal obligation to pay for that care, but the injured person must first prove the full-extent of their damages. They could do so by presenting every receipt and invoice for goods and services necessary to treat their injury, tax records, employment records, and health insurance reimbursement information.
Economic Damages
Economic damages cover injury-related out-of-pocket costs. A paralyzed individual and their family could receive payments covering expenses such as:
- Medical treatment for the injury or condition
- Mental health care for help adapting to the paralysis
- Rehabilitation expenses
- Physical and occupational therapy
- Renovation costs to adapt the injured person’s home
- Cost of an adapted vehicle
- Lost wages and the value of used fringe benefits
- Diminished future earning capacity
In addition, a family might receive payments for a caregiver’s lost wages and benefits, incidental costs of seeking and receiving treatment, mobility aids, at-home nursing expenses, and other costs associated with adapting to and living with the paralytic injury.
Non-Economic Damages
A paralyzed person is also entitled to compensation for the drastic change in their quality of life. The negligent parties could pay sums to acknowledge the injured person’s:
- Disability
- Embarrassment
- Disfigurement
- Lost enjoyment of life
- Other unwelcome changes to their lifestyle
Their spouse could receive damages for loss of consortium, and other family members could seek damages for loss of the injured person’s support or companionship. A paralyzed individual and their family could prove non-economic damages through photographs, testimony, and video showing the extent of the injured person’s limitations.
Punitive Damages Are Sometimes Available
Economic and non-economic damages are compensatory, meaning they make up for what the injured person lost. Punitive damages punish a person whose conduct was reckless, grossly negligent, or indifferent to the risk to others.
A seasoned paralysis injury attorney in Bridgeport can evaluate whether a responsible party’s conduct merits pursuing punitive damages. Ordinary negligence is inadequate to support a claim for punitive damages. The injured person must present clear evidence that the responsible party’s conduct was intentional, malicious, or recklessly indifferent to others.
Punitive damages could be available in certain personal injury cases, but Connecticut General Statutes §14-295 specifically allows them in car accident cases if an accident occurred because a driver was committing certain traffic law infractions. Depending on the circumstances, punitive damages could be twice or three times an injured individual’s compensatory damages.
Rely on a Bridgeport Paralysis Injury Law Firm to Pursue Damages
Adapting to paralysis is an arduous process. Trying to handle an injury claim while you recover might mean you do not give your claim or recovery the attention it deserves.
A Bridgeport paralysis injury attorney understands what needs to be done to prepare a successful claim for damages. Working with a well-practiced legal professional allows you to focus on your recovery while they handle getting you the financial recovery you deserve. Whenever you are ready to get started, Bring on Bert!
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